VOCAB TEST 1
1. I was promised a good job from January this year, but it’s April now and I’m afraid that they are just ____________ me along. A. cheating B. swindling C. stringing D. bringing
2. Although we now believe this to be impossible, early scientists tried to produce ______ motion machines, that is,
machines which would never stop. A. perpetual B. everlasting C. undying D. forever
4. Mr. Discontent wanted to complain to the waiter but was afraid of making a(n) ______. A. act B. drama C. play D. scene
5. Is an inexperienced civil servant __________ to the task of running the company? A. capable B. skilled C. eligible D. suited
6. After the concert, everyone had to ________ home through the snow. A. trace B. tread C. trudge D. trickle
7. The students paid _________ attention to the distinguished professor. A. respectable B. respected C. respectful D. respective
8. Jerry has been burning the midnight ________ over the last few days; his final exam is soon. A. lamp B. light C. candle D. oil
9. Books taken from the short ________ section are due to be returned the next day. A. borrowing B. credit C. loan D. return
10. You are bound to find information on the stock market crash of 1987 in the newspaper ________. A. files B. archives C. records D. collections
11. I knew my mother would ________ a face the minute she saw my new haircut. A. drag B. lift C. pull D. raise
12. There are a lot of computer programmes nowadays, but really good ones are few and far ________ A. between B. apart C. away D. amongst
13. He is such a kind and caring young boy - he wouldn’t hurt a ________ . A. bird B. worm C. fly D. bug
14. In the last century, it was widely _______ that Indian fakirs were capable of superhuman feats. A. held B. grasped C. kept D. shaken
15. You can buy goods on the Internet with a credit card, but there is a danger of _____ if someone else obtains the number. A. corruption B. fraud C. embezzlement D. disruption
16. As he accepted the award from the organization, his voice _____ with emotion. A. quivered B. flinched C. cringed D. winced
17. You say that this small spare part cost you $100? I am sure you paid through the _____ for it. A. eye B. nose C. ear D. lips
18. It was mindless of you to _____ Sam in the face. You should never have done it if you expect him to love you. A. slam B. clap C. slap D. clasp
19. The train service has been a _____ since they introduced the new schedules. A. shambles B. rumpus C. chaos D. fracas
20. Fiona’s offered to help you. Don’t ask why – never look a gift _____ in the mouth. A. horse B. cow C. deer D. dog
21. Sandra’s unpleasant _____ suggested that she knew about Amanda’s terrible secret. A. grimace B. smirk C. wince D. snort
22. The altitude _______ his breathing, making him a bit spaced out and disorientated. A. played downed B. played havoc with C. played himself in D. played up to
23. These men share a tendency toward balladeering that _______ me the wrong way. A. bothers B. provokes C. riles D. rubs
24. I’m afraid the results of the X-ray examination are quite ________. A. undecided B. indecisive C. inconclusive D. irresolute
25. A lot of people who have had a ___________ deal in life will show surprising cheerfulness. A. bad B. rough C. raw D. clean
26 . The accused man was released on _________ pending the hearing of the case. A. deposit B. bond C. deposition D. bail
27. The main cause of the strike was the management’s refusal to give further consideration to the question of pay ________.
A. differences B. differentials C. subsides D. dissimilarities
28. The Chairman ruled the speaker’s question ______. A. out of line B. out of tune
C. out of order D. out of condition
29. When several companies showed interest in buying the film rights to his novel, he knew he had __________. A. upped the ante B. scooped the bag C. caught the fat one D. hit the jackpot
30. The tournament isn’t over yet, not by a long ___________. A. talk B. chalk C. walk D. hawk
31. The rumour that his job was in jeopardy caused Pete to______ with concern. A. frown B. beam C. grimace D. howl
32. Little did I imagine The Amazing Race would entail long-winded journey and ups and downs ____. A. aplenty B. inexhaustibly C. profusely D. superabundant
33. It stands to reason that a touch of humor and optimism can work ____. A. on all cylinders B. spectacles C. wonders D. your fingers to the bone
34. Researchers have made a(n) ____ plea for more sponsorship so that they can continue their project. A. compassionate B. dispassionate C. encompassed D. impassioned
35. At first, she was ____ dumbfounded to hear that he wanted to break up, and then came the stirring of autohypnotic perturbation. A. exceedingly B. out-and-out C. somewhat D. utterly
36. In the hands of a reckless driver, a car becomes a ____ weapon. A. lethal B. fatal C. mortal D. venal
37. It’s a shame they did not pick you, but it does not ____ out the possibility that you might get a job in a different department. A. rule B. strike C. cancel D. draw
38. There’s a small hard ____ on my wrist. I think I’d better see the doctor. A. swelling B. lump C. bruise D. rash
39. At first Tom insisted he was right, but then began to ____. A. back down B. follow up C. drop off D. break up
40. The decision was ____to a later meeting. A. cancelled B. arranged C. deferred D. delayed
41. Tempers began to ____ as the lorries forced their way through the picket lines. A. break B. fray C. grate D. fire
42. The old ship will be towed into harbour and ____ . A. broken up B. broken down C. broken in D. broken off
43. Making private calls on the office phone is severely____on in our department. A. frowned B. criticised C. regarded D. objected
44. Apart from the ____ cough and cold. I’ve been remarkably healthy all my life. A. odd B. opportune C. irregular D. timely
45. The company was declared bankrupt when it had ____ more debts than it could hope to repay. A. inflicted B. incurred C. entailed D. evolved
46. Architectural pressure groups fought unsuccessfully to save a terrace of eighteenth century houses from ____ . A. disruption B. abolition C. demolition D. dismantling
47. Before I went to drama school, I had to ____ quite a lot of family pressure for me to study medicine. A. resist B. restrain C. refuse D. reconcile
48. Strong protests were made ____ with demands for an international enquiry. A. joined B. added C. coupled D. included
49. What her problems all seemed to ____ towas lack of money. A. analyse B. condense C. boil down D. sum up
50. The picture looked very impressive but in fact it had been____________from another. A. imitated B. emulated C. copied D. faked
51. The archaeologist was amazed to sse that the body hadn’t____________at all. A. mouldered B. rotted C. wasted D. decomposed
52. We put some____________of bread out everyday for the birds. A. chips B. crumbs C. cubes D. slivers
53. I found the information for the project in the encyclopedia but I couldn’t give ____________and verse on it. A. chapter B. unit C. poem D. extract
54. Speaking about his long battle with his illness struck a ____________with the audience. A. wire B. string C. rope D. chord
55. He is not under arrest, nor have police placed any ____________on his movements. A. obstacle B. restriction C. veto D. regulation
56. The entire staff was thrown off ____________when the news of the takeover was announced. A. composure B. disarray C. stable D. balance
57. I’m not sure I can answer that. I’ve only thought about it in the ____________before. A. general B. hypothetical C. indefinite D. abstract
58. The matter has been left in____________until the legal ramifications have been explored. A. recess B. suspension C. abeyance D. waiting
59. Could I pick your ____________on the subject before the meeting? A. brains B. mind C. head D. intellect
60. The modification has been the _______ on the cake for both of us, for a lot of hard work has gone into the design and development of the course. A. chilling B. cooling C. freezing D. icing
61. Annabel and Insidious 3 are not James Wan’s best movies by far and those would be _______ between any of the
other sequels on air, but they are pretty incredible. A. kiss-offs B. summings-up C. tip-offs D. toss-ups
62. You shouldn’t have been _______ to your elders by raising those matters. A. ill-mannered B. immaterial C. impertinent D. inapposite
63. Should you fail, the sacrifices made by your family would be meaningless and reside _______. A. on your conscience B. at your wits’ end C. off your own boat D. under your thumb
64. Many Americans refused to fall in with the idea that religion is a(n) _______ disreputable anachronism. A. academically B. cerebrally C. cognitively D. intellectually
65. She expects the political experience gained in this election will stand her in good _______ in her future career,
which, she suggests, could include another campaign. A. footing B. grounding C. precedent D. stead
66. I ran into an unknown in the gap-filling exercise, but I did try and _______ the gap. A. held on B. hang out C. pressed on D. stuck at
67. I was out of __________ with you on this matter, but let’s not quarrel about it. A. empathy B. harmony C. keeping D. sympathy
68. Poor management brought village shops to teeter _______ of collapse although community-owned shops, Internet
retailing and home delivery schemes were becoming more popular. A. in the teeth B. on the brink C. on the razor’s edge D. on the threshold
69. Our lecturer _______ the importance of taking notes A. reincarnated B. reiterated C. rehabilitated D. reciprocated
70. The contemporary dialogue for me struck a slightly _______ note. A. disembodied B. discordant
C. dismissive D. disconcerting
71. Both of the jobs I’ve been offered are fantastic opportunities – I’m in such _______! A. a constituency B. a deviation C. an arrhythmia D. a quandary
72. Sharon is such a positive person – she _______ her problems, whatever they are. A. goes light on B. throws light to C. makes light of D. sheds light upon
73. After hearing news of the attack, the general made plans for an immediate _______ against the enemy. A. compilation B. retaliation C. accumulation D. incantation
74. He didn’t mean to be offensive; it was quite an _______ remark. A. innocuous B. indehiscent C. incendiary D. insidious
75. Serena is still _______ ignorant of the fact that she is about to be made redundant. A. blissfully B. decorously C. jubilantly D. ecstatically
76. No decision has been taken about the building of the new airport. The authorities are still _______. A. beating about the bush
B. comparing apples and oranges C. sitting on the fence D. holding all the aces
77. Oil spills will _______ even the healthiest of marine ecosystem. A. play havoc on B. break ground with C. pay the consequences for D. take their toll on
78. Congratulations on your success! How does it feel to be_______? A. the man of the hour B. a word of honor C. an egg on the face D. the top of the morning
79. She was so _____ about my ambition to be an actress that I really wish I hadn’t confided in her. A. ridiculous B. ironical C. droll D. sarcastic
80. The two men had a disagreement when they first met. That disagreement _______ the scene for the lifelong hostility between them. A laid B arranged C prepared D set
81. This will cause all sorts of problems. ~ I know. It’s a _______ for disaster. A. recipe B. ingredient C. receipt D. reason 82.
A: He thinks the exam will be easy. B: Oh, _________. A. if you like
B. famous last words C. go ahead D. I wouldn't say no
83. We had to _______ in the back of the car for an hour to find the missing keys. A. bed out B. ransack C. root around D. turn upside down
84. If the basket is removed with more citric acid added, it may be used to manufacture or _______ alcohol. A. amend B. patch up C. rectify D. remedy
85. They spend so much time arguing that, when it comes to the _______, decisions are often deferred. A. crunch B. outcry C. panic stations D. uproar
86. We were bitterly disappointed when our team were _______ to the second division from the first. A. allocated B. designated C. relegated D. stipulated
87. Working night shifts at the weekend is _______ of any job in hospitality. A. cut and thrust B. ebb and flow C. nuts and bolts D. part and parcel
88. Materialism traps us _______ in a world of possessions hag-ridden by irrational fears of likely loss and lurking dangers. A. impromptu B. off the cuff C. on a whim D. unawares
89. Although she had been told quite _______ to pull herself together, she simply couldn’t stop crying. A. rigidly B. sternly
C. unrelentingly D. unsympathetically
90. He was highly knowledgeable on the areas. Many would say he was something of a _______. A. novice B. probationer C. tenderfoot D. veteran
91. The ______________ in our building often falls asleep at the front desk. A. caretaker B. stockbroker C. undertaker D. bookmaker
92. Police blamed a small hooligan______ in the crowd for the violence which occurred. A. constituent B. element C. division D. portion
93. He was arrested for trying to pass______ notes at the bank. A. camouflaged B. fake C. counterfeit D. fraudulent
94. It was such a shock to receive a letter like that________ A.in the red B. out of the blue C.in the pink D. over the moon
95. MrWellbred went to a school which______ good manners and self-discipline. A. blossomed B. planted C. harvested D. cultivated.
96. The smell of the burnt cabbage was so __________ that it spread to every room. A. pervasive B. effusive C. extensive D. diffuse
97. If the terrorists are not sent to prison, there will be a public ______ A. attack B. onslaught C. recrimination D. outcry
98. She was in the office all of Wednesday and so has a ___________ alibi. A. stale B. considerable C. broad D. cast-iron
99. Her dishonety served as a ____________ to the speedy termination of her employment. A. catastrophe B. catharsis C. catalepsy D. catalyst
100. In his speech he made a flattering ______ to your work. A. allusion B. appetite C. application D. applause